Call-in Columns: "What's Being Said at the Coffeeshops"   

While some calls do reveal "the dark side of society," the device is invaluable as a window into readers' lives, says Editor Stan Tiner of the Mobile Press Register.

Looking for a quick, easy way to listen to readers? In this era of talk radio, many editors are reviving an old stand-by: call-in columns, where any citizen who can pick up a phone can air his views. At many places, they're the most popular feature in the paper.

"To me, it's just another way of getting readers' voices into the pages," says Virgil Swing, editorial page editor of the Duluth News-Tribune in Minnesota. "Some people are willing to write. Some aren't."

But shouldn't callers have to identify themselves and limit their comments to news topics? Absolutely not, says Editor Stan Tiner at the Mobile Press Register, where the "Sound Off" column reaps more than 100,000 calls a year. That's more than one per person in the city.

"It's a little elitist" to expect callers to identify themselves, says Tiner, who sees the line as a way for ordinary folk to be heard. "People with power don't have any problem speaking in public. But little people, if they're going to say something negative and sign their names, there's a potential price they shouldn't have to pay to express themselves."

Tiner recently moved "Sound Off," easily the best-read part of the paper, from the op-ed page to A2 to give letters to the editor more space – since, contrary to fears that phone comments would replace written ones, letters have also increased. "The quality of these letters has improved, too," says Tiner.

Other editors, however, worry about the anonymity of callers. "Some say they get more provocative responses if they're anonymous," says Lynnell Burkett of the San Antonio Express-News, "but I really do oppose them. I think [callers] have to be responsible for what they say."

The subject is under debate at the Grand Forks, North Dakota, Herald, where anonymity is not allowed. "The case can be made that [anonymous] call-ins detract from the professionalism and integrity of the page," says Liz Fedor. "The flip side is, it brings forth identification of problems in the community as well as the pulse of the community, if the calls are in an unrestricted fashion."

Readers perceive the editorial pages as less "stuffy" and enjoy hearing what other readers say – not what a reporter said they said, Fedor says. She adds that the Herald's "Comment Line" is "extraordinarily popular."

But beware: Phone columns can include unfair attacks and must, of course, be closely edited for libel, since the paper is ultimately liable. In Mobile, several editors see the comments before they're printed, says Tiner, who advises, "When in doubt, throw it out. We have hundreds to choose from, and if it doesn't pass the smell test, you get rid of it."

Ernest C. Hynds, head of the journalism department at the University of Georgia, says phone lines, E-mail and online services can help editors know more immediately and exactly what readers care about and want to read.

But "anonymous things worry me," he says. "I'm leery of the sort who won't sign their names. But [phone lines] may be an indication of what people are thinking about and then you could turn around" and investigate it.

Tiner says it's a rare day that his paper doesn't run a story generated from a "Sound Off" comment. When a tip comes in, "invariably we find there's something to it," he says. And while some calls do reveal "the dark side of society," Tiner says the device is invaluable as a window into readers' lives.

"I really do believe it represents what's being said at the coffee shops," he says. "I read it early every day to have a sense of what's on my readers' minds."